


Knest

by kayshiaginger



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Anxiety, Cross-Posted on Quotev, Fantasy, Fauns & Satyrs, Gen, Kingdom of Knest, Knest, Mystery, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Quests, RPG, kingdom - Freeform, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:02:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayshiaginger/pseuds/kayshiaginger
Summary: A faun, outcast by her own kind, decides to grow up and become a great adventurer, though she still struggles with the pain of her past. All her life, she'd tried filling the void in her heart - whether by sating her desires to explore and fulfill quests, or by countless affairs with men and women of all shapes and species.Recently joined by her new-found friends, they all team up together to explore the vast landscape of the Kingdom of Knest, a beautiful and carefree world where everything is balanced.Except, there's just one teensy, tiny problem: Something deeper, more sinister is at work. Something that is trying to tear the kingdom to shreds. Someone that is trying to control this world, and will stop at nothing until they control Knest and the kingdoms surrounding it.Zeffah is determined to fix everything before disaster can strike further.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

" _And stay out!"_ snarled the leader of the clan, as the others surrounding him threw various objects at the small creature. All of them snarled and booed, shouting and screaming at the newly-ostracized victim. Whatever had taken place had displeased the clan, had disappointed the creature's parents, had sent the small little female off on her own.

She was not like the rest of her kind. While they were all about peace and music, she wanted nothing more than to battle and party. She wanted to fulfill sexual desire. She wanted to become something more than a benign, conflict-avoiding, timid little faun. She always knew she was different, from the very moment that she was able to understand that everyone in her clan was avoiding her like the plague.

Everyone had beautiful shades of brown and blonde fur. Not her. Her fluff was as sleek and dark as the clear midnight sky. Her horns grew large and curled around her ears like a ram's, everyone else's were different lengths of a fine point. Her tail grew much longer than the others, resembling that of a bull's rather than a goat's. 

Even her parents tried to avoid her. The very beings who gave her life. She looked to them for help as the others of their clan were belittling her, tantalizing her, cursing her. They averted their eyes. Disowned her. Figures the only time the faun clan would be so barbaric would be when one of their own does not behave like their own.

She gathered her few belongings that were flung so maliciously at her and scrambled to her feet, sniffling and failing to hold back tears. Her face was red and puffy from emotion. With one last look at everyone she called family, everyone she called friends, everyone she called home... she choked back even more tears as she turned swiftly on her hoof and ran. Ran as fast as she could with her few items bundled in her arms or held tightly by her tail.

Only in her late twenties, it was rather young in terms of a faun's life. Hardly anyone before her had ever been shunned - perhaps only a small handful - but even then, they were much older than she when they had been thrown out. She ran as far and as fast as her little hooves could carry her. She would never look back. Never wish to return. 

After hours of running, she stumbled upon a grand stone wall with an inscription carved into it. She slowed to a stop as she approached it and heaved to catch her breath - she hadn't stopped once since she started her sprint, and she was rather impressed that she hadn't collapsed at any time. Though now that she stopped, her speed caught up to her and hit her like a ton of bricks. She knelt down and gazed up at the wall, which read:

_Welcome to the World of Knest_.


	2. I: The Start of Something New

The sun had risen on yet another beautiful, blooming spring day in the Kingdom of Knest. Many birds were filling the air with precious morning song. The streets of Flocke in particular were starting to become alive as people were beginning to wake. People of all shapes, sizes, and species were preparing for the day with their own routines. Farmers tended to their fields and animals; bakeries were stocking up on fresh goods for the day; adventurers trained for job opportunities. Most others of the kingdom were just beginning to wake up, while others still would rise later in the morning.

Zeffah, a rather small but powerful faun with fur as sleek and black as night, was strolling into Flocke as it was growing busy. Her war hammer was strapped to her back for the time being; there was no need for it now. She had a small satchel hanging off her shoulder that carried her gold and other small items - it sucked not having pockets but hey, what can you do?

She needed something to eat, and her favorite place to visit for a delicious treat was the best bakery in Flocke: Alister's. All she really needed to go there for was a small loaf of bread and she'd be set for hours. Sourdough to be exact, as it was her favorite - especially from Alister's bakery. Alister is an incredible baker, specializing in all sorts of pastries and breads. There's hardly anyone who hasn't heard of them or their bakery. They are a self-taught being, and have been practicing the art of pastry-making for a long time now. Their bakery is located in Flocke, along the marketplace streets where dozens of other vendors sell all sorts of food and drink. Her hooves clicked lightly on the cobblestone as she traveled through the city streets, heading into the marketplace to visit.

Luckily for the little faun, she couldn't have come at a more perfect time; she'd gotten to Alister's just before a rush of people could barge in requesting all sorts of things - from cakes to pies, breads to muffins, danishes to macarons. Zeffah swished her tail happily, pleased with her timing. She frequented Alister's as much as possible when she was in town, so they recognized her immediately when she approached the counter.

"Ah, it's nice to see you again Zeffah! Loaf of sourdough for you today?" Alister exclaimed.  
"You've got it, Ali!" She said cheerfully with a snap. Alister pulled out a freshly baked loaf, still warm and crisp to the touch. Zeffah pulled out twenty gold from her satchel and traded it across to the baker.

"Enjoy your day today, Alister. Looks like a busy one!" Zeffah mentioned as she smiled and exited the bakery, the loaf of bread wrapped up and tucked into her bag. Twenty gold sure was a lot, but Alister definitely put all his time, effort, and compassion into his baking.

She had been walking for a much better part of the morning before arriving to Flocke, so she decided she ought to rest her hooves for a little while. There was a small tree not too far away from the marketplace, but it was out of the way of citizens doing their daily shopping and had the perfect shade beneath it. Silently, she made her way over and took her hammer off her back and her bag off her shoulder, but kept them close by as she knelt down and sat on the ground to eat her breakfast.

* * *

Clayton had finally made it to the city. After traveling around for several days, he decided he could use a break to rest his feet. The guards at the entrance were hesitant on letting him through, probably because of his suspicious appearance, but they eventually moved aside for him. Since he was here, he decided he might as well explore around the city and see the different services it had to offer. The place seemed quite busy at the moment, citizens were constantly moving about. He spotted the marketplace ahead, noting how crowded it was.

He was quite low on supplies at the moment. However, Clayton wasn't in a rush. This would be a good opportunity to rest up. He looked around trying to find somewhere that was less crowded and nosy. Off to the sides he found the perfect place: a tree. A small tree compared to some of the mighty oaks and maples he'd passed by on his travels, but an excellent place nonetheless. It was out of the sun and its branches seemed large enough to support his weight. Usually he'd rest up against the trunk of the trees, but he'd rather not be approached by anyone this time. No one else seemed to be around, meaning he'd be able to get some shut eye without anybody questioning him.

He climbed up onto a large branch, letting himself relax against the trunk. The leaves overhead were dense and blocked out any sun rays that threatened to shine through - this tree sprouted its leaves pretty early; it was only mid-spring and much of the foliage was still just budding flowers. Clayton closed his eyes as he adjusted to a comfortable position and let himself drift off. Hopefully no one would bother him for a few hours.

After maybe an hour or so, however, Clayton stirred as he heard some footsteps at the bottom of the tree. He opened one of his eyes and peeked below the branch he was on. Through the leaves and twigs, he could just barely make out a small figure, which was in the process of seating itself in the grass below.

 _A human?_ he thought, getting a bit curious. He shook his head. He noted that they had horns growing from their head. _No, humans don't have horns._ He was quite disappointed he couldn't get a quick snack from them. He was out of blood potions and it had been a few days since he has drank any. Plus, humans were in his best interest for receiving blood, given his close-relation to them.

Judging from their appearance, they were probably a faun. They seemed to be eating some bread at the moment. The aroma tempted Clayton to get some for himself, but he was still rather tired. Deciding to go back to sleep, he shifted his position a bit to get more comfortable. However, doing so led to some leaves falling away from the branch and fluttering to the ground below.

* * *

A leaf fell and landed right onto her nose.

 _Hm? Did I bump the tree that hard when I was sitting down?_ She frowned and thought as she chewed. She looked up and tried peering into the treetop but leaves were blocking her view of what could've shifted. Her nose twitched to knock the leaf off of it.

 _Must have been a little animal, I guess..._ she thought with a shrug as she returned to eating her bread. She watched the bustling crowd from across the way. Some time had passed and the morning rush began to thin out. It was much less populated in the marketplace than it was only an hour or so before. Zeffah had wrapped the other half of her loaf back up as a treat for later, but she still lazed about under the tree, watching the crowd thin out more and more until there were those who straggled behind, having waited for the morning rush to be over to do their business. Noon would pick up soon and the rush would start once more, though.

Up above, Clayton couldn't get back to sleep. After thinking about blood and the smell of the faun's food, it was the only thing on his mind and it hadn't left since. God, was he hungry. It had been a while since he's had human food too, so maybe... As he stood up to start climbing down the tree unnoticed, he doubled over from the sudden pain in his stomach. He grunted and clenched his teeth as he tried to steady himself using the tree trunk.

 _Damn it!_ He thought, clutching his stomach. He knew he should've purchased some blood earlier, or at least take a quick bite from some unsuspecting human. Taking a glance at the marketplace, he saw that it was less populated than before. Well, at least now he wouldn't have to worry about the overwhelming crowd. After some pain as subsided, Clayton slowly tried to make his way down, but lost his footing due to a sudden dizzy spell. He wasn't usually this clumsy and it caught him off guard. He took a rather painful fall onto the grass. Some branches scraped him as he fell, though they weren't too bad, but this meant he'd probably have to buy some healing potions now, too. Considering he never has much gold on him, he might have to resort to some thievery.

Zeffah clambered to her feet in surprise, and immediately assumed a fighter's stance. She wasn't expecting a full-grown person to come crashing from the tree. Hell, that's not really anything that anyone would expect to happen.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed. Her tail flicked, preparing for a quick attack if necessary since her hammer was lying on the ground still, not easily accessible from her current position. As quickly as she jumped to her feet, though, she relaxed when she noticed that they were hurt and slowly trying to sit up.

"Are you okay? What were you doing up in the tree..?" She cautiously reached out to help him up, but he held a hand up to stop her in her efforts. She also had plenty of questions to ask, but she felt it'd be too overwhelming to ask them all, especially all at once. Plus, it didn't appear as if he'd be able to answer many of them; he looked pretty dazed.

" _Urgh..._ " Clayton groaned. Some of his wounds were slightly bleeding but they weren't too concerning. He slowly moved to get up to his feet again, brushing off dirt and leaves off of himself with a small stumble. Regaining his balance, he glanced over to the faun next to him who began speaking to him, her expression full of concern. As much as he hated unnecessary conversations, he'd figure he'd say something to get the faun off his back. 

"I'm fine," he said before attempting to quickly leave the scene. She furrowed her brow and whipped her tail forward to grab him before he could get any further.  
"I may look short and cute and cuddly but I can assure you I'm not any of those things. Just as much as I can assure you that you don't look fine at all," she said rather sternly. Her tail was wrapped around his forearm, not extremely tight, but enough that he couldn't go anywhere too easily. With him in her grip, she glanced him over. 

"Now I'm no witch doctor, but it looks like you could use a potion or two. Falling out of a tree from that height really scuffed you up a bit," she stated. She noticed more scratches and marks, but she wasn't sure if those were from the fall or something else prior. Clayton figured the faun wouldn't have let him off so easily. He sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Let go of me _please_ ," he said with a forced smile, trying to tug his arm away. Though he was quite interested in getting some potions from her, he tried not to let that show. It'd be naïve to think she'd be willing to help him _that_ much.

She huffed and kept hold of his arm as she knelt down a bit to reach into her bag, looking for a potion. Lo and behold, she pulled out a half-full bottle of health, though frowned at it slightly, but handed it to him regardless. He needed it right now more than she would, and she could always go buy some more if she needed to.

"Here, it's not much but it should help for the most part," she said, thrusting the bottle in his direction. Clayton eyed the bottle but then pushed it away.  
"Thanks, but I don't need your _charity_ ," he said coldly. He tried walking away but her tail kept him in place.

 _Geez. She's small, but she sure is strong,_ he thought as he turned to hiss at her.  
"You're really going to pass up this offer? I'm sorry but given how weak and dazed you looked scrambling to your feet after that fall, I doubt you'll be capable of making it all the way into marketplace for your own potions," she stated bluntly, glaring daggers at him for rejecting her offer.  
"I could make it just fine. I'm just... I'm tired, that's all." he scoffed. "Don't underestimate me."

Scrunching up her nose, she flicked her tail rather abruptly. With a mind of its own, her tail let go of his arm and quickly grabbed and yanked him by the ankle, sweeping him off his feet. Clayton fell down to the ground once again. 

" _Fuck..._ " he groaned. Angered, he turned his head around to glare at the faun. "What the hell are you doing?!" He bared his fangs. His hood lowered in the process, revealing his pointed ears behind his hair.

She sneered at him, "Certainly not laying on the ground, that's for sure. You sure you don't want this potion? Or are you gonna keep bein' a baby about it?" She swished her tail and grabbed the potion from her hand with it before continuing, "I've got nothin' going on today so we can go on if you _really_ want. Literally anyone else would be _grateful_ for an offer like this, especially if they're pretty banged up like _you_."

"Banged up?" he scoffed. "Hardly. Besides, I could take a few scratches." Clayton stood up to brush off dirt and grass off his clothes once more. He put his hood back on to conceal his ears. He had his back towards her and hesitated before speaking.

"Look, sorry for... _being an ass_ ," he painfully admits, "...but I don't need a healing potion. I need..." he trails off, looking off into the distance near one of the shops. Zeffah rolls her eyes, but decides to give up trying to give him the potion. She reached for her bag and tucked it away.

" _Fine_ ," she said as she also reached for her hammer and placing it back in its place on her back. She looked up at Clayton and furrowed her brows. "Need _what_ then?"

Clayton doesn't respond, too busy focused on the human that just exited one of the shops. He began making his way over there as if he were in a trance.

 _So hungry..._ echoed in his mind. With a lot of citizens around he would surely be noticed, but he still couldn't stop himself from walking over there. _Just a...quick bite..._ his zombified brain said. He was entranced. Lost in his daze and on the hunt.

Zeffah was concerned again as she watched him stalk away. Who does he think he is, not answering her question? She carefully followed after him after tying her satchel around her waist like a belt-bag and strapping her hammer against her back. He seemed super out of it and she was concerned about what would happen to someone else, let alone what could happen to him.


	3. II: Pigeons and Lizards

Meanwhile at Cyclops Crops, a produce shop located in Marketplace run by (you guessed it) a small family of cyclops, Geon was busy looking to purchase some seed for his bird companion, Pi. It'd been a few days since either of them had gotten to eat since they've been out completing quests. Pi and Geon frequently went out to fulfill quests and explore the kingdom in order to fill an insatiable need for adventure that flooded through their veins.

"So, do you guys have any form of seed here that I can purchase for my feathered friend here?" Geon inquired, looking up at the cyclops across the counter.  
"Sure thing, I can give you about a three-pound sack of seeds, but it'll cost ya about 30 gold."  
"I suppose that's fine." Geon replied, slightly disheartened to hear the cost as he only had 100 gold, now 70. But he needed something to care for his Pi. After paying for the bag of seeds, Geon left the shop and was getting ready to explore the city again to try to find some quests to complete. He looked around as he considered which path to take in order to search for quests, but with how peaceful it'd been lately, there hadn't been much luck. At least not in Flocke, which was uncanny given that it was a major city, _and_ housed Knest Castle. Though, this was probably the most heavily guarded city in the entire kingdom, so it would be possible that there was hardly any work to do under-the-table.

* * *

It seemed like neither the human nor his bird noticed Clayton stalking closer to him. Once within reaching distance, Clayton reached out to grab him, holding the human firmly in place and licking his lips. His fangs extruded as he neared closer to bite into his victim's neck.

In a panic, Geon shouted, "What the fuck are you doing?!" He didn't know how else to respond, so he quickly commanded Pi to grow twice in size and tackle the figure. Pi, normally being a small pigeon, immediately shifted to the size of a golden eagle - twice as large and almost four times as fast. His gentle coo turned into a fierce cry as he knocked Clayton off of his friend and pinned him down to the ground.

Zeffah watched with wide eyes at the situation as she dashed over to help the innocent human and give Clayton a piece of her mind.

"What is your problem?!" She screamed at Clayton, who was now on the ground pinned under a bird, which seemed to have a bit of a problem trying to keep him down at the moment. She turned to the man who was previously being attacked and spoke to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she looked up at him. There was a little over a foot difference in height between her and Geon. She looked him over to make sure he wasn't hurt.

 _I really hope I don't have to be everyone's medic,_ she thought. _That is NOT my profession._  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't know what _this_ guy's deal is." Geon replied as he dusted himself off, glaring down at his attacker.

Clayton struggled to wrestle with the bird but was eventually able to get it off of him. He had received some claw marks from it, but ignored them. As quickly as he was pinned down, he got up to lunge for the human again, this time hissing as his eyes changed and he bared his fangs even more.

Zeffah, without missing a beat, quickly turned and lashed her tail out, grabbing at Clayton's ankle. She had nearly missed from how quick he was, but she was quicker. With one swift movement, she moved her entire body to yank him back and onto the ground again.

"What the hell!" She exclaimed as she held his ankle tightly. Hitting the ground painfully, he wheezed as the wind was knocked out of him. The sudden pain was enough to snap him out of his frenzy for just a moment. He looked up to see both the human and Zeffah standing over him, looks of concern and frustration on both of their faces.

" _Ergh..._ " he groaned. "What...?" he trailed off, confused at what had taken place.  
"You idiot you were just attacking this guy!" she shouted, dumbfounded that he didn't remember what he just did. "What's your deal?!"

In a blind rage, she was shouting at him; she couldn't quite put the pieces together. It hadn't quite clicked yet, but she felt super off about him. In the process of her lecturing, though, she understood. The more she had scolded him, she realized what his "deal" was.

The pointed ears. The bared fangs. The literal attempt at _attacking_ an innocent civilian, and a human one at that.

 _Holy fuck, am I dumb,_ she thought.

"You're a vampire!" She said. She had almost shouted it, but she knew that would've drawn some very unwanted attention, and the three of them didn't need more than there already was.

Clayton was stunned. His heart was racing. "I...I attacked...? No, I-I didn't mean to..." He looked up at the man in a panic, checking for any wounds.

"A-Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, right? I-" He struggled with his words. He looked at the ground, ashamed. "I...I'm really sorry," he said as he pulled his hood over his eyes, covering them. Embarrassment filled his body; he couldn't bear to look at either of them after what he'd attempted.

"It's fine. But I really ought to go somewhere else now," Geon coldly replied as he turned to walk away. "Come, Pi."

Pi shrank back to his normal size and cooed towards his human friend. He glared down at the half-vampire creature below him and gave a disappointed and angry coo to him, then fluttered off to his partner's side as they traveled away.

Clayton said nothing, eyes still locked onto the ground. It was just him and Zeffah now. There were other citizens that witnessed the scene but they continued on milling about, only a few of them stopped to see what would happen next.

 _Aluco have mercy on me, please don't let word get out about this..._ Clayton hoped.

Zeffah watched Geon and his bird companion walk away until they blended in with the crowd down the street. She couldn't blame either of them, to be honest; she probably would have reacted the same way. With a sigh, she looked down at Clayton still on the ground and offered her hand out to him. Clayton looked up at her hand, confused at why she offered it out to him. Why hadn't she just left him alone on the ground? He deserved it. He hesitated but eventually grabbed her hand and got up.

" _Thanks..._ " Clayton muttered, still full of guilt. He couldn't bring himself to look Zeffah in the eyes.

Zeffah remained silent for a moment, eyeing him. Then she turned and said, "follow me. I know a place to get what you need that doesn't involve harming or scaring the shit out of anyone." Clayton nodded and followed her without a word, letting her lead him to wherever.

"How much gold do you have on you?" She asked over her shoulder as they walked. Her hooves clicked on the cobblestone along the way. She was looking around, trying to see if she could find someone.  
"A hundred," he said. He glanced at some citizens as they were walking. Some were already beginning to give him looks. He decided to cover up most of his face with his hood scarf. Word was definitely traveling...  
"All right, that ought to be plenty. Now if I could just find..." she trailed off as she tried focusing on looking for... whoever she was looking for. They traveled up and down a few streets until she spotted them. With a grin she picked up the pace as she practically galloped into their direction, hooves clacking on the ground.

"Keep up!" She said as she picked up the pace, making her way over to someone on the other side of the town square. Clayton quickly followed her, still unsure of who they're going to meet.

"Hello, elder Gerald!" She called out to a lizardperson that turned around at the mention of his name, bowing in respect once in front of him. His head was a royal blue, while the rest of his body was an electric blue, and he was covered in scales; he smiled when he saw Zeffah approach him.

"Why hello there, traveler! How can I help you?" They respond.  
"Huh? Why are you bowing to him?" Clayton leaned to the side to whisper down into Zeffah's ear, curiosity peaked.  
"Anyone who encounters Gerald bows to him! He might not look a day over thirty-five, but I assure you he's practically as old and wise as Strix Aluco!" Zeffah exclaimed with a grin.  
"That's right, kiddo," Gerald said with a chuckle.  
"Elder Gerald, we have some... business, we'd like to discuss with you."  
"Ah, of course! Right this way," he responded with a wink. He led the two of them to a nearby alleyway that was shadowed and secluded. It was a tad messy with garbage strewn about, but it was a perfect scene to keep any wandering eyes from looking for too long. Gerald pulled down an old, large barrel and sat it down in a more shaded part of the alley, then sat on one side of it and encouraged the two to sit across from him.

Gerald began to speak, "Would you like to hear a tale from my youth, or are you interested in some of my wares?"

Clayton, who still wasn't entirely sure _why_ they were talking to this old reptile, asked to hear a story. Gerald perked up.

"A story, eh? I've got the perfect one picked out for you!" He began to tell about a time in his life where a horse kicked him in the face because a goblin friend had told him that if he tried to pluck a hair from the horse's tail, he'd be able to trade it for 20 gold. And how he had a horseshoe-shaped imprint on his forehead for about a week.

"That goblin still calls me 'Horseshoe' to this day!" Gerald said with a wheezy laugh. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clayton was about to ask for another story when Zeffah reached and smacked him on the back of his head.  
"Hey!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the sore spot. "What was that for?!"  
"We didn't come here for _stories,_ dimwit," Zeffah said as she turned her focus back to the elder. "He needs a couple of potions, Elder."  
"Ah, I see!" He said with a wink. He took another quick glance around - nobody is nearby. "What can I interest ya in?"  
"Do you, uh, do you have any blood potions?" Clayton asked, a bit timid.  
"'Course I do!" Gerald said as he pulled a small collection of different types of blood potions from a satchel underneath his cloak. There was a pretty wide variety of them. Human, orc, elf - some of the typical, more common ones you could find from potion dealers or necromancers. Then there were some more rare ones: hellhound, unicorn, even dragon's blood.

 _How the hell does he have dragon's blood?_ Zeffah pondered. At such a high price of a hundred thousand gold, there were only two possibilities: it was a scam deal, or it was legit. If it came from anyone else, Zeffah would have immediately deemed it a scam, but she trusted Gerald greatly.

"Pick yer poison," Gerald said as he sprawled out the small collection. Each one had a crudely drawn picture of what each type was, as well as a little tag that stated how much it would cost. Clayton glanced at the faun, unsure of all of this. She nodded to him that it was okay, and he pointed to a vial of human's blood.

Gerald held out a scaled hand as he requested thirty-five gold for the human's blood potion. Clayton quickly fished a few coins out of his cloak's pocket and placed them into the scaly paw. Gerald grinned and handed over a vial of red liquid, it looked to be maybe ten ounces. Plenty enough for him to have now and still have some left over.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya," Gerald stated as he pocketed the gold. "Anythin' else I can help ya with?"  
"No, thank you, Elder Gerald. That was just what we needed," Zeffah said as the two of them stood and smiled. She bowed at him again, though Clayton refused to comply.  
"That's fine, be sure to stop back sometime now!" Gerald waved goodbye to them as they left him in the alley, cleaning up his impromptu shop. They exited the narrow walkway and back into the sunlight, into the crowd.


	4. III: A Proper Introduction

"There you go," Zeffah stated as she watched Clayton turning the vial in his hands.

"Thanks," he said before opening the potion and quickly downing at least half the bottle. Some of his teeth were stained a glistening red from the blood. Clayton licked his lips rather...  _ lustfully _ . An act that was completely subconscious, he couldn't help it after going for so long without a proper drink.

_ So fucking good... _ he thought. Clayton desperately wanted to drink the rest, but decided to save the rest for another time. He sealed the vial and pocketed the rest of the potion into the pouch around his waist. Zeffah regretted having watched him drink. She shouldn't have paid so much attention. She cleared her throat and turned her head away as soon as she realized how piqued her interest was.

"Ah... _ anyway _ ," she started. "Do you feel better now?" Clayton nodded. The blood gave him a quick energy boost. Speaking of blood, he'd forgotten about his injuries. That bird really scratched him up. The marks didn't hurt now, but it'd probably be bad if they got infected. His struggling really made matters worse - while they weren't terribly deep or wide cuts, they were still open enough that it could be very bad news.

"Yeah, thanks again," he said appreciatively. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. With more confidence this time, he was able to look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry about our first encounter," he rubbed his neck, sheepishly. "I'm...not really one for conversations, but what I said was inexcusable and I...I wish I could take that back," Clayton said honestly.

She shrugged her shoulders and shot him a small grin as they stood there just outside the alley. 

"Hey, it happens. It's good to hear you're okay," she said. "Besides, I've had a lot of worse things said to me before, ya get used to it after a while, I suppose." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the health potion again and offered it to him once more.

"You sure you don't want to use some of this?" She asked with a slight wave of the vial.

"Ar-Are you sure?" he stuttered. "Aren't these things expensive?" He'd never really bought a health potion before, so he wouldn't know. Most of the time he'd resorted to stealing them from unsuspecting citizens.

Zeffah shook her head. "It's only a twenty health-points potion, they're pretty easy to come by. A 50hp potion would be much more expensive, but even then, I don't mind offering you some. You need it," she insisted with a smile. Clayton still stood there, very unsure whether or not he felt okay with accepting her offer. She noticed his uneasiness.

"Really, it's no problem. I insist," she reassured.

"...Alright. Thanks again." Clayton took the bottle from her and drank a few sips of the potion. He felt his wounds closing up, a feeling he'd never get used to. He then handed the potion back to Zeffah.

She nodded and returned the potion to her bag, then they set off walking around the town. They walked in silence for a moment or two, though something was tugging on her mind.

"So if you're a vampire..." she started, "how come the sun isn't affecting you right now? Surely the hood doesn't stop it completely?" She asked. It was a bit of a blunt and probing question, but she really had no other idea how to ask in a nicer fashion.

Clayton let out a chuckle. "You're right, it doesn't. Though it does offer some shade from the sun."

As they walked into the brighter, sunnier streets, he adjusted his hood lower to shield his eyes. 

"Also," he continued, "I'm only half vampire. I've only inherited some vampiric features. I can only be exposed for a while before the sun starts really hurting me." He didn't mind answering some questions about himself now that his secret's been revealed. There was no point in really hiding it.

"I see," she replied. That did make a lot of sense. She looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was pretty much directly overhead. It must be noon already.

_ Geez, _ she thought.  _ It's been an eventful day already and it's only noon? _ She returned her gaze to the streets in front of her. It was beginning to grow busy in the square again. It grew busiest at three times of the day: first thing in the morning, at noon, and into the evening, during the twilight hour.

"So uh," Clayton started, hoping they'd find a shady area soon. "I haven't asked you your name, if you don't mind of course." He's hardly had experience making friends with anyone but he figured it could be fun having someone around to talk to for once in his life.

"Oh! Right! Sorry, I... I usually would have introduced myself a lot sooner," she chuckled. "My name is Zeffah. And you are...?"

"Clayton," he answered simply. He looked her up and down. Before she could say anything else, he continued.

"Man, now that I look at you, you're rather short," he flashed a smug grin at her, chuckling to himself.

Her smile faltered. She scrunched up her nose and practically pouted.

"H-Hey! I'm not  _ that _ short!" She exclaimed as she stopped in her tracks and stomped her foot. Her actions were not really helping her case and was actually making her look quite adorable.

His grin remained. "Heh, whatever you say."

All jokes aside, Clayton was also curious to know more about Zeffah.

"So, Zeffah," he said as he faced her. "What do you do around here? Assuming you live here of course, unless you're just traveling from city to city."

"I actually live just outside of Belfwit. I come to Flocke pretty frequently, though. Big city, better trades and job opportunities," she said with a shrug, then continued. "Honestly, though? Most times I just enjoy walking around. I think my favorite place in Flocke is Alister's, they make the  _ best _ baked goods. Ask anyone in the kingdom and they'll tell you so," she said confidently. "What about you, are you from here?"

_ Alister's, huh? _ Clayton thought.  _ Guess that's where she got the bread from. Speaking of... _

He eyed her bag as they walked. He could still smell the aroma coming from there. He could use a snack. Maybe he could...

"Best baked goods, huh? Guess I'll check it out sometime." he said. "As for me, I came from elsewhere. I'm always moving around. I can't really find myself staying in one place. I only end up stopping for a quick rest or to get some supplies." When Zeffah was distracted, Clayton managed to stealthily steal the rest of the bread from her bag. He then hid it from her view.

"Ah, okay!" she replied.

_ Similar to me, then. Only I guess I have a place to call home... _ she thought.

"Nothing wrong with that at all, a lot of people I knew were like that," she said. And it was true, whether or not those people couldn't stop seeking the thrill of adventure, or were a fugitive on the run, or even just liked traveling for the sake of seeing new places. Hell, she even knew two halflings, Victoria and Evelyn, that would often travel all across the kingdom for their shop. 

"I don't think I've ever really seen you in Flocke. I know it's a big place and all, but I feel like I'd have at least run into you at some point. Take it you hide in trees often?" She said with a smirk.

Clayton hummed. "I don't believe we've met before. This is my first time here actually." He pretended to adjust his hood scarf but he was actually eating a piece of the bread he'd ripped off of the loaf. He made sure to chew quickly before continuing so he wouldn't raise suspicion.

"And hey, nothing wrong with trees. They offer good shade and protection from predators on the ground." he said.

"You don't seem like the type to have predators," she pointed out. She felt her stomach rumble all of a sudden.

_Well, I guess it_ _has_ _been a little while since breakfast..._ she told herself. She turned to reach into her bag and frowned as she looked in. All that was in there was her gold stash and her half-bottle of potion. 

_ Where could it have gone? Maybe it fell out while I was running around...? _

"Hm, well by predators I mostly meant just people looking for a fight. Occasionally I'll get a few vampire hunters on my tail," he said casually.

Clayton glanced to his side and saw Zeffah looking through her bag. He took this opportunity to turn his back to her just enough to eat the rest of the bread in a hurry, almost choking on it. Once he was finished, he turned back around quickly to not seem suspicious and continued the conversation. He pondered on getting some more food for himself later.

"Surely you've had some goblins or something after you for no reason. Those things are pretty annoying." He licked the crumbs off his lips and brushed his gloves behind his back to get rid of any evidence.

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure.." she agreed, though she wasn't paying attention so she wouldn't have really known what she was agreeing to.

_ God dammit, how could I lose that much bread? _ She pouted and sighed, giving up on looking for it. She could always get something else if she ended up  _ really _ hungry. Closing up her bag, she returned her gaze to watch where she was walking.

"Oh? Looking for something?" Clayton asked, feigning curiosity. He pulled up his hood scarf to hide his mischievous grin. Occasionally he would snag a few gold coins from citizens passing by. None of them appear to have noticed. He quickly pocketed about three gold with a small snicker.

"Also, where are we headed to?" he questioned. He hadn't realized he'd just been following Zeffah without any idea on their destination.

"I was looking for the other half of my bread loaf from earlier, but I guess it must've managed to slip out of my bag..." she said, sounding rather distraught about it. "Oh well, anyway, I don't really know where we're going, I'm just kind of wandering at this point, trying to avoid the bustling streets. It's  _ awful  _ being in Town Centre or Marketplace around noon."

"Well, with a bag that big I doubt it just fell out...Maybe someone  _ stole _ it," he said nonchalantly as he snacked on an apple he casually snatched from someone's hand.

"Wh-" it clicked. "Did you steal my food?! What the hell-" she stopped mid-sentence as she heard the sound of sweet little coos somewhere in the noise of the crowd around them. Her ears pricked about, twitching and moving as though they were little sattelites. Looking to her right a bit, she could see that guy from earlier with his bird friend just on the outskirts of a huge group. 

" _ Steal? _ Now why would I do that?" Clayton said innocently and finished his apple. Zeffah rolled her eyes and pointed to the group.

"Hey, there's the human you nearly tried to murder earlier," Zeffah pointed out. The little bird was fluttering about beside him, seemingly trying to get his attention.

"Hey! I didn't mean to attack him!" he said defensively, "Besides, when I do bite humans, I only drink a bit and heal them afterwards with potions I have on me."

_ Jeez it really is peaceful nowadays, nobody needs ANYTHING done for them. _ Geon thought to himself angrily. He was busy trying to hunt down something to do. It was a bit distracting having Pi making noise by his side, however, so he turned to ask the little bird what was wrong.

"Coo!" Pi cooed to Geon, attempting to signal the faun and the strange man who attacked him earlier.

"Oh." Geon had realized what Pi wanted. "I suppose we can go over and talk to them if you're  _ really _ that sure about it." Geon said reluctantly to his feathered friend, carefully eyeing his attacker from earlier.

"Coo coo!" Pi cooed happily as he led Geon to the other two.

Clayton was shifting his weight nervously, looking in any other direction but at the man and his bird. He felt awful.

"Hi!" Began the faun. "I'm Zeffah, we met earlier. Not under the best circumstances of course, but," she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's nice to meet up with you again!" She turned to Clayton, who was still busy trying to avoid the conflict, and nudged him with her elbow to introduce himself.

" _ Ow! My ribs! _ " Clayton whispered angrily at Zeffah as he rubbed the area she elbowed him. He hadn't been in good shape recently and somehow the tiny faun packed quite a punch. Clayton looked at the man, unsure of what to say as he was put on the spot.

"Um, hey. I'm Clayton," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about before..."

"I suppose it's fine." Geon replied dryly, obviously still on edge about being attacked. "My pal here wanted to say hi, his name is Pi and I'm Geon. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, and I've been in town all day trying to find a damn quest to do but nobody wants anything done for them."

Zeffah waved happily to Pi, who seemed to take a liking to her immediately and fluttered over to perch himself on the top of one of her horns with a cheerful "coo". 

"Hi there!" She said with a grin as she tried to look up at the pigeon on her horn, then looked back up to Geon. "Flocke's a pretty huge place, if you can't find any quests here, I'm sure there might be some on the other side of town. Most people these days have servants working for them it seems," she pointed out. As if on cue, someone walked by with two scraggly-looking servants in tow, each carrying something for their master.

"Isn't there a job board somewhere? I've seen those in a lot of the cities I've visited," Clayton piped up.

"Maybe, I'm not too sure. I've only visited a few times. Usually, I have Pi fly around to find stuff for me, but I've been trying to give him a break when I can. He hasn't had to do much today other than... _ ahem _ ...you know..." Geon trailed off.

Clayton said nothing.

_ Damn, guess he's really not gonna let that go, huh? _ he thought. Well, he couldn't blame Geon. He  _ did _ try to attack the man before the bird stopped him.

"Yeah, each city usually has at least one somewhere. I can take you to Flocke's if you'd like! It's not far from here at all, actually," Zeffah chimed.

"Sounds good to me," said Clayton. Geon shrugged and gave a small nod. It was better than nothing, he supposed.

She nodded and turned on her heel to walk away from the group, leading them off back to the Town Centre again. Pi fluttered off of her horn and back to Geon's side so they could travel together while she led the way.

"Now if I remember correctly... it should be right... overrrr..." she paused as she rounded a corner and came face to face with the job board. "Here!" She called out as the others joined up with her. It looked like there were only a few jobs posted on the board today, a few of them looked a little dated, but it was still plenty early in the day for many more to potentially be posted.


	5. IV: Quests Are Better Together

Out of all the slips of paper on the job board, only two of them were recent. It was possible that some of the older ones were probably already fulfilled, and that the slips of paper asking for help were forgotten. Or perhaps nobody was interested in filling out those orders.

The newest ones, however, had very different themes in terms of what needed to be done. The first one was posted by a human named Audsa, seeking a company of adventurers to steal back an item from a long-time rival by the name of Josiah. The other one was by a grandfather named Ragneel, who states briefly that he's dying soon and wishes for an adventurer or more to escort his granddaughter safely from their home in Flocke to live with her aunt in the city of Rooste. They didn't appear to be well-paying jobs, but often the reward money would be paid to each adventurer. So if the reward offered ten gold, each adventurer would receive ten gold.

Clayton skimmed over each of the two fresh ones, his eyes caught on the word "steal" in one of them.

_Thievery? This should be fun,_ he smiled to himself. He glanced at Zeffah and Geon to see which ones they were interested in taking on.

"Both of these seem all right to me, they don't seem as exciting as I'd have hoped... but it's better than nothing!" Geon exclaimed, attempting to be optimistic.  
"Coo!!" Pi cooed with excitement, landing on Geon's shoulder.

* * *

A strange man walked up to the job board looking for some work. And someone or a group of someones that hopefully would be kind enough to allow him to tag along. Fortunately for him, there was a small group of three- or was it four? He realized the bird sitting on the one man's shoulder could be considered the fourth. He finally approached the board and glanced over the help wanted ads. Finally, he spoke up.

"Uh, hi- hello!" he said as he stood beside the man with his bird, hoping they'd be friendly... the last few people he tried to meet definitely weren't, but he was still optimistic. He certainly sounded very timid for his stature: a fairly rugged, lean body-type with shaggy blond hair and basic paladin armour. He had a smaller, one-handed warhammer strapped to his belt, and a small metal buckler to his back.

Clayton perked up and glanced past Geon. It was a human. This time, he wasn't worried about suddenly attacking him due to the blood he drank earlier. _Though his neck did look rather appetizing..._ He quickly looked away to get rid of these thoughts. Zeffah turned to look at who was speaking, and soon looked up as Geon moved out of the way.

_God dammit everyone's so much taller than me,_ she thought, _I'm surprised that after all these years of looking up at someone, I haven't snapped my neck._ He seemed rather friendly. She turned her attention away from the job board and towards the stranger.

"Hi there," she said to him. "You lookin' for somethin' to do, too?"  
"Yeah a little bit, I've been trying to find people to do jobs with, but nobody seems to want to add people they don't know into their groups," the man said with a sigh. "Oh, and uh- My name is Zurix, by the way!"

_Certainly a cheerful sort._

"Oh-! We're not really a _group_ , just kind of banded together I guess? I was showing them where one of Flocke's job boards were. I'm Zeffah!" She stated to him. She motioned to Clayton behind her and introduced him to Zurix also.  
"Oh cool!" he said with glee. Finally, some normal people! He looked to the others. "How about the two of you? I like your bird!"  
"Oh, I'm Geon, and this is Pi! We're both adventurers - it's been too long since we've really gotten to do much of anything exciting though."  
"Nice to meet you!" He went in to shake Geon's hand, but Pi intercepted and shook the hand in his wing excitedly.  
"Coo coo coo!!!" Pi exclaimed, it seemed like he liked this human, too.  
"Sorry about that," Geon apologized, then changed the subject back to quests. "There is this quest here that's asking for a group to take it though, so maybe we could all group together and ask about it. It's not worth all that much, though... however, maybe we can negotiate something?"

Zurix was chuckling softly when Pi took his hand instead, then stated, "I'm honestly fine with whatever, it's just boring doing boring jobs by myself to get by." Zeffah looked at the reward amount. Only twenty-five gold? Hm.

"Maybe it means we each get twenty-five?" She piped up. "I obviously wouldn't know for certain, but..." she trailed off. She was trying to be optimistic, but she had plenty of doubt.  
"I doubt it," Clayton spoke up. "These measly jobs hardly ever pay enough."  
"Maybe if we did a super good job they'd give a tip!?" Zurix pointed out. "Maybe?" He continued with a shrug as Clayton snorted.  
"Yeah, maybe."  
"I like your optimism, Zurix, but I don't think that'll be the case," Geon said as Pi cooed sadly in agreement.  
Zeffah pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's go look for this Audsa then, I suppose. It says she's waiting somewhere here in Town Centre."  
"...Is that far from here?" Clayton asked. It had only been about ten or fifteen minutes, but he was starting to feel the effects of the sun. He didn't mention this, though, as he felt it was unnecessary.

"We're _in_ the Town Centre, dummy. It just doesn't say where specifically she'd be." She was annoyed, more at the lack of information than at Clayton. "I guess we'll just have to start asking around."

Zurix could sense Clayton's uneasiness. "Are you alright?" He asked with a worried tone.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he said dismissively. He pulled up his scarf to hide his face more. "Let's just get this over with quickly."  
"I hope so," Zurix replied with concern as he looked at Clay a little longer. He broke his gaze to take a look around. "She's gotta be wearing one of those like dark cloaks that looks obviously suspicious, because like that's how it usually works, right?"  
" _How would I know?!_ All sorts of people dress suspiciously in this city," she fired, her hands thrown up in the air. She turned from the board to scan the crowd. 

" _Damn,_ " she huffs. "I was hoping I could see Gerald close by, he practically knows everyone in town..." Zeffah sighed and stamped the ground with her hoof. "We could always split up and ask around, then meet back here?"  
"I mean, I can send Pi up and have him look around if you guys need," Geon offered. "After all, a birds-eye view would probably be best in a crowd like this."  
"If that'll work best, then sure, by all means," Zeffah said.  
"Sounds good," Clayton agreed.  
"You heard them Pi, go for it" Geon ushered as he sent Pi off.  
"Coo!" Pi whistled in understanding and took off, fluttering up into the air to search.  
"I guess we just hang around here until Pi returns, then?" Zeffah asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Clayton stood in a shady area nearby in the meantime, watching people pass through the streets, eyeing the various items they had on them. Every once in a while he nicked a few gold pieces off of strangers who strolled past too close to him.

Zeffah leaned against the job board, her tail in hand, and casually swung it around. It'd only been a couple minutes but it was already feeling like forever. She was growing impatient way too fast.

"Hang on guys, just a bit longer," Geon reassured, sensing the impatience. "From what I can see, Pi has found her and is on his way back."  
"You can see things through him?" Zurix asked, astounded.  
"He and I are soul-bonded. We've been best friends for decades."  
"Just how old _are_ you?" Clay called over.  
"Nearing seventy years."  
"What?! You don't appear older than twenty!" Zeffah exclaimed.  
"And you don't look a day over twenty-five, but knowing fauns, you're probably much older aren't you?"  
"..."

Still hungry, Clayton casually snagged another apple, this time from someone's wheelbarrow as they were passing by. They didn't seem to notice. On Pi's way back to Geon and the crew, he saw the apple in Clayton's hand. Hungry from his flight, he snatched the fruit from Clayton just as he was going to take a bite.

"Hey, what the hell?" Clayton yelled at Pi, glaring daggers at him. Pi became visibly angry as his coo turned into an owl's screech, then he gently patted Geon's head for his attention.  
"Coo coo cooooo!!" Pi cooed happily as he perched on Geon's head, attempting to hold the apple between his wings so he can take a bite.

"Pi says that she's just a few blocks south of us." Geon explained. The little pigeon continued to stare Clayton in the eyes as he ate the apple on their way to begin the quest.

Zeffah snorted at the half-vampire and asked, "Was the bread you stole from me not enough, Clayton?" She was walking (well, trotting, small hooves meant she had to keep up with all of these giants) beside him and just behind Zurix and Geon as Pi lead the way.

He rolled his eyes. "A half a loaf isn't exactly the most filling thing you know."

She shrugged her shoulders and smirked, "It was enough for me."  
"My stomach isn't exactly as small as yours, faun."  
"Does Pi steal food from you guys all the time??" Zurix asked.  
"Eh, he's more used to me sharing everything with him. I also don't think he's very fond of Clayton." Geon told him. Pi almost immediately threw the apple core backwards, aiming for Clayton.  
"Wh-! _Hey!"_ Clayton shouted as he just barely dodged it.

Zeffah eyed Zurix cautiously. She wasn't used to super friendly types being around her. In her experience, it usually meant some sort of trouble.

"Are we nearly there?" She called up front to Geon and Pi.  
"Yep she's just up ahead, do you wanna go ahead and introduce us then?"

Zeffah grinned and picked up the pace, galloping a bit on ahead of everyone else to speak to a woman who dressed to seem of importance She was in a rather expensive-looking gown with a shawl to match, draped around her shoulders. A very pretty hat adorned with a feather sat atop her head, and her hair was pulled back into a bun. If she wasn't rich, she sure dressed to appear that way.

"Hi!" Zeffah started as she gazed up at the woman. "My name is Zeffah, and coming up behind me are some adventurer pals of mine: they're Pi and Geon, that's Zurix, and he's Clayton!" She explained as she pointed to each one respectively once the rest of them reached their position.

The woman introduced herself as Audsa and asked, "Are you here about the job I posted?"  
"Yes," Clayton answers immediately. "So what are we thieving?" He asked, straight to the point. Audsa turned her attention to the cloaked figure and studied him for a moment before turning her attention back to the entire group. 

"An old friend of mine has something that belongs to me. His name is Josiah. We used to be friends... well, more than that I should say. Anyway," she said with a wave her hand, "Recently I discovered one of my prized necklaces missing, and I'm _sure_ that _he_ took it. If you can get it back for me, I'll be in your debt."

She glanced around real quick and then leaned in close.

"Among you all and me, you can steal whatever else you like from him. I know I only put 25 Gold as reward but consider it as extra... _'payment'_... if you will," she said with a wink. "And if you return my necklace in a timely fashion, I'll reward you _each_ 25 gold!" Audsa smiled in delight.

"...Whatever we want, huh? You got it," Clay grinned. Zeffah nodded and stuck her hand out to the woman.  
"It's a deal, then?" She asked. Audsa grinned and accepted the handshake, sealing the deal. She then proceeded to give directions of where Josiah's home is so they could be on their way.

The little faun grinned and turned on her heel to start making her way over, leading the rest of them along.

* * *

Sandman was sneaking his way to his next contract. Some poor sap by the name of Josiah, just on the outskirts of the city of Flocke. If anyone told him a month ago that he'd be killing people in a city this big for only ten gold, he'd call you crazy. Turns out, when you're in need of food, ten gold is better than nothing.

Josiah's house was closer to the edge of the city than he thought, but still inside enough that it was tricky to get there unnoticed. Eventually though, he found his way there, and opened the window. He didn't expect that after this job, he would be the poor sap.

The specter crawled into the house through an open window, and found it was dark inside, save for whatever sunlight was pouring in from the late-afternoon sky. Luckily, he was able see well enough in the dark that it didn't matter. He slid his way across the floor, listening for any noises. The house was silent. Eventually, he found the master bedroom, and that's just where Josiah was. Sound asleep in his bed. Sandman chuckled, he wouldn't even have to use his powder. He pulled out his scythe, raised it, and did the deed.

While he was getting ready to leave through the window, he heard a sound.


	6. V: Mission Success...?

The five of them set off for the target's house, turned out it was barely on the outskirts of Flocke, with what seemed to be acres upon acres of land surrounding it. Really, all they had to do was follow the river northwest, and they'd be able to reach it. At least, that's what Audsa told them. Given Flocke was such a large city, it'd taken a couple hours before they got there (especially since they had no horses, carts, or caravans they could take).

After some time, they were nearing the property. From what Zeffah could see, it was a relatively large house. Josiah was the type of wealthy person to seclude himself from the rest of the city, it seemed. There _was_ a fence around it. Irongate for the most part, but there were some niches in the way. It looked like the fence was in the process of being replaced from wood slats to irongate. It would probably be easy to slip in, depending how guarded Josiah liked to keep his home.

Audsa was right, there were dozens of acres surrounding the home just outside the fence. They were maybe two hundred feet away from the back corner of the man's home. There was quite an abundance of space between the fence and the walls of the house, too. It was a beautiful stone cottage, crafted from some of the finest stone, found all the way in Rooste, which was located past the opposite side of Flocke.

They all huddled in some brush just off the path they were following to discuss what to do next.

"Well, what's our plan?" Zurix whispered quietly, "Are we gonna go over it? Find a hole in the wall? Or will we make one? And are we calling dibs on his stuff now or?"  
"Sure, why not?" Clayton said. "Free loot. Just don't be too obvious."

There was a humongous oak tree with branches that draped far across the clearing, leading perfectly over into Josiah's yard. Zurix took a look up at it and suggested it might be easiest to climb it and jump down.

"You guys gonna join me?!" He called down to the others as he quickly started his climb up the trunk.  
"Already on it," Clayton said confidently. He's grown so used to climbing trees in the past couple of years that he hardly puts up a sweat. Grabbing onto a branch and pulling himself up, he eventually made it to the highest branch.

" _You guys!_ " Zeffah hissed, "You really never been on a proper stealth mission or something?! We don't know if this guy's home or not! Be _quiet!_ " She tapped her hoof lightly on the ground and looked around, her brow furrowed in frustration. They were pretty far away from the house, but they were still speaking loud enough that she swore Audsa could have heard them all the way back in Town Centre.

"I've never been caught. Can't say the same for those loud hooves of yours," Clayton smirked.  
Zeffah huffed, "Quieter than you're being..."

Sandman looked through the bedroom window and saw people in the tree not too far off in the distance. He ducked out of the way and hid out of sight. The shadows would be his friend for right now.

_Shit shit shit shit_ , he thought, _now where am I gonna sneak out?_ He had no idea where to go. _Maybe there's just two..._

"Alright, Pi, let's show them how to really sneak around a place." Geon told Pi as he started to will the bird to grow to his maximum size. Pi grew to an astounding size, as large as a gryphon. Geon grabbed hold of Pi's feet as the bird began to rise and carry the two over the fence.

"Yeah, a giant bird. Definitely a _great_ way to _sneak around_ ," Zeffah snarked.

Zurix looked on in amazement as Pi carried Geon over, dropping him gently on the roof and shrinking back to normal. He started edging himself to the end of the branch he was stood on and dropped himself down once he was past the fence, hitting the ground with a solid thud.

Sandman peaked out the window and watched anxiously as a giant pigeon flew a man over the fence and up above to the roof, then hastily snuck through the house trying to find the best exit point.

_OKAY, I NEED TO GET OUT NOW!_

Clayton followed Zurix and leapt over the fence, landing on his feet beside him. Zurix started jogging up to one of the windows, careful to be light on his feet. He popped his head up just enough to peer in.

"I don't see anyone," he whispered as Clayton joined him. He cracked open the window and slowly opened it, the shutter slowly swinging out with a subtle creak. Zurix cringed, hoping it wasn't terribly loud. When he was sure the coast was clear, he swung it open the rest of the way.

"Guess I'll just stay and keep watch then..." Zeffah muttered to herself, staying on the other side of the fence with a small, frustrated sigh. She turned away from the house and folded her arms over her chest as she sulked. She leaned up against the large oak tree and huffed. Her ears pricked about, picking up any and all noises from inside.

Sandman starts looking through the house looking for other windows and through the other rooms for anywhere to hide from these people. _Why are they here? Was this a trap from that asshole?_

Zeffah's ears twitched as she listened closely to all of them, trying to make sure they were all okay. She mostly heard footsteps, which was good. Footsteps were good.

_They better not be making any sounds other than walking. Maybe light rummaging, I guess..._ she thought.

Zurix snuck into the window, moving the curtain out of the way and quietly resting his feet on the carpet inside.

_Woah, it's really nice in here, and a bit creepy.._ he thought. Hardly any light was shining through, most of the shutters were closed. Very few candles were lit. And he could faintly hear something from who knows where _._ Probably just Geon with Pi. Clayton followed Zurix inside, noting the strange atmosphere too, but it didn't bother him too much. It was rather calming for him, actually. The two of them got to work, quietly moving about the house in search of Audsa's beloved necklace.

Zeffah sighed and looked up to the sky. Then to her left, then to her right. Listening intently at every sound she could. She was picking up everyone's movements, so clearly nobody was dead yet. And nobody in sight, so she wasn't dead yet either. So far so good. Must keep it that way.

_**God** , I really hope they don't get too distracted with the whole "free for all" thing and they get what we actually came here for..._ she thought. She paced a little bit and looked around. What a way to show off... flying over with their weird pet bird or climbing a tree. As if running down along the fence to an open area was too easy for them.

Zurix whispered to Clayton, "Do you wanna split up or go together?"  
"Whatever works for you," he said simply. "Though we might find the necklace faster if we split."  
"True. Okay, I guess I'll head this way," Zurix said as he headed down the hallway and split away from Clayton.  
 _If only I were telepathic...I could tell those two to_ _shut it_ _and get a move on,_ she thought with a small snort. She kept listening for Pi and Geon. They were definitely much quieter.

_There's Clayton's steps... and Zurix's... Pi's soft fluttering... Geon's footsteps..._  
"Huh?" She cocked her head to the side, stepping closer to the fence. She swore she could just faintly hear a fourth pair of footsteps. Her ear twitched as if acting as a honing device, trying to pick up the noise again.

Clayton decided to head upstairs and explore. He searched through several rooms, examining shelves and peeking inside drawers. He snagged some coins that were scattered around, though not a lot. There was still no sign of a necklace though.

Sandman started to actually feel some panic for the first time in maybe ten years, and it was _really_ throwing him. His footsteps started getting faster, and he started skipping some rooms just so he could get to the other side of the house. Suddenly he heard a bird coo to somewhere on his left, and he dove into the closest room on his right.

_Okay, I_ _definitely_ _heard that,_ Zeffah began to panic. Someone was inside with them, and she wasn't gonna be able to communicate that, whether it was Josiah or someone else, she had no idea who it was. All she knew was she needed to warn them without warning the stranger.

_How the HELL am I gonna do that?!_

_How the fuck am I gonna get out of here?_ Sandman looked around the room he dove into. A guest bedroom decorated with lots of flowers. He spotted a rather large dresser across from the door and dove behind it, listening closely. _God they need to get out soon, or I'll be here forever..._

Zeffah, in a panic, decided to just pole-vault herself over the fence. She pulled her hammer off her back and held it in her hands as she stepped back a few paces. Then, she ran at the fence and slammed her hammer down onto the ground forcefully, using the momentum in leaping over the fence. She did a small tumble but landed in a position that it was easy to get back to her feet. A little scuffed from the landing, but she was okay.

Quickly and carefully she ran across the rest of the yard to the nearest window, fortunately for her not the window to the room that Sandman had run into, but one that Zurix was scrounging around in.

" _Hey!_ " She hissed to him, spooking him a bit.  
Zurix jumped, and after a second he looked at Zeffah and quietly hissed back, " _what?!_ "  
" _You guys need to find the necklace and_ _get out!_ _Someone's in here with you all, I heard them run into a room_ " She explains as quickly and quietly as possible.  
" _Oh shit, okay...uh... Clayton went this way_ " Zurix turned on his heel and was getting ready to sneak out of the room when Zeffah stopped him.  
" _I'm not going in there!_ I'm just the messenger!" She called out to Zurix in a hushed tone.  
"Okay, okay! I'll get Clayton," he hushed back.

Clayton made his way to the next room. It had double doors, so surely it must be of some importance.

However, he noticed that one of the doors was slightly ajar. Uneasy, he took out one of his daggers from his sheath. Upon stepping closer, he noticed a familiar aroma.

_...Blood?_

Despite all the worrying signs, he pushed open the door. He realized this was the master bedroom. On the bed however was a human, probably Josiah. He had his neck slashed by some large weapon.

_Who could've done this?_ he thought. Though Clayton quickly pushed that thought aside, as he was supposed to be after the necklace. It was probably hiding somewhere in this room. After searching more drawers, he couldn't find much. It wasn't even under the bed. Maybe...

Clayton went up to the bed, moving the human off of it enough so that he could reach under the pillow. He felt something and took it out: the necklace.

_Bingo._

Now he needed to get out, though not without a little reward for himself... After all, surely there's no way they could be caught now. He put his dagger away and started licking the blood from that poured from the man's wound, not needing to bite since his neck was already torn open.

Zurix got to the top of the stairs, walked down the hall a bit, and saw the door cracked open at the end. He snuck on over to the door and whispered in, "Clayton, are you in there?"

Clayton was too occupied to answer.

Zurix opened the door enough to sneak through and immediately saw Clayton, poised over the bed. Eyes wide, Zurix quickly stepped back outside of the door and patiently waited for Clay to finish his business.

Finishing his meal, Clayton licked his lips clean, pulling up his scarf as he exited the room with the necklace in hand.

"Oh, hey." Clayton said when he saw Zurix standing next to the door. He lifts up his hand that was holding the necklace. "I found it."  
"Woah! Oh- So, Zeffah said there's someone else here in the house..." Zurix said, sounding a bit worried.  
"...Is that so? I didn't hear anything." Clayton pocketed the necklace and took out both of his daggers. "Well, we should head on out then. Keep your guard up."

Sandman, after not hearing anything slipped out from behind the dresser he was hiding, and stuck his head out the door. _Are they... gone?_ Soon after he just barely heard a few of them talking. Someone on the other side of the house, saying they know about him. _Fuck._

Zeffah tapped her hoof softly in the grass as she waited outside the window.

_Geez they sure are taking their time..._ she thought. Her ears are pricked up, trying to pick up any slight sound that might not be anyone she came with.

_I swear to god if they're not out here soon I'm ditching them..._ she began growing anxious as she paced around, trying to listen still. She heard the stranger move around slightly. It was a bit further away than where Clayton and Zurix were at, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where exactly Pi and Geon were, which really worried her because whoever was sneaking around inside could be near them.

Zurix pulled his buckler from his back and hammer from his side, preparing for combat in case they ran into the stranger. "Alright, Zeffah is waiting by the window we entered from." Both of them made their way to the window and saw Zeffah anxiously pacing around outside.

_The window they came in from? Where is that?_ Sandman looked around and started to sneak through the house more. _I just have to find my way downstairs_

The faun glanced back into the window and saw the two of them approaching, putting their weapons away.

"Jeez, it took you two long enough! Come on let's go, before Josiah finds us. Where are Pi and Geon? Did either of you tell them that you guys had someone else in there???"  
"I haven't even seen those two at all, should I go looking for them or?" Zurix asked.

The entire time everyone else was busy scrambling around, Pi and Geon were downstairs going wild with stuff they're stealing. They'd stolen a sack of goods, just essentials. Food, seed, bottles of water, wine, and some kitchen daggers. Just the essentials. Honest.

"Well Pi, I'd say it's about high time we get out of this house," Geon stated proudly.  
"Coo!" Pi cooed in agreement.  
"God dammit, those two are rummaging around for other stuff!" Zeffah exclaimed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Were they even trying to look for what they came for? "I'm surprised Josiah even couldn't hear any of you."  
"Hate to break it to you, but that guy's dead," Clayton piped up. "And no, before you give me that look, I did not kill him. His throat was sliced."  
"Wh-! But-... Holy fuck someone else is in there too, then..." Zeffah glanced past the two of them. "And the other two still aren't out yet? Whoever else is in there is probably the same person who killed Josiah..."

Sandman heard the coo from the kitchen to the left of him as he came down the stairs. _It's that freak with a bird. Shit, what am I gonna do._ Sandman really panicked and very slowly, silently, he tried to sneak into the living room to his right.  
Pi thought he saw something move near the living room.

"Coo, coo!" Pi cooed cautiously and angrily to Geon  
"I follow you loud and clear, grow to your full size and fly around to the other side of the house and try to block off the other side of the living room. I have these daggers that I should at least be able to hold my own if I need."

Zeffah picked that up. "Seems like they might've found each other," she stated. "If I had my hammer... _dammit..._ " She let out an exasperated sigh, remembering she used it to vault herself over the fence _._

Sandman felt something was wrong. He heard something. He knew something wasn't going to go right here. But what was it? Well, turns out: A giant bird.

Pi saw the others on his way out of the house and flew over to Zeffah, shrinking back to normal size and frantically cooing to get her to follow him.

Zeffah looks up to Pi and studies him fluttering about, realizing he wants her to follow. "I'll be right back, you two get out of the god damn house already," she called out to Clayton and Zurix as she took off following Pi.  
"Okay _okay_ , we will" Zurix started to climb back through the window. Clayton followed, and they headed back towards the fence that they entered from.

She followed Pi to the other side of the house, and suddenly he stopped flying so haphazardly.

"Here, Pi?" She asked as she looked up at him.  
"Coo!" he cooed as if saying 'yes, this is it!' Zeffah peered into the window and thought she could make out the outline of someone, much _much_ taller than she was.

Without anything to really do, both Clayton and Zurix eventually made their way back to the irongate fence and climbed back over it. They also spotted Zeffah's hammer laying there.

"We should probably grab that and run it over to her," Zurix said, then remembered, "She did tell us to stay here though... What do you think Clayton? You think she'll need this right now?" Clay nodded.  
"Yeah, probably. We have no idea what they're dealing with back there after all," was his response as they picked up the warhammer and turned to take it back over.  
"Alright then, lets go," Zurix said as he followed Clayton towards Pi's coos

Zeffah cautiously pulled the window open and let it swing out, luckily it was low enough down that she could hoist herself up over the sill and carefully sneak in. She watched the figure freaking out - he really had no idea what to do, or what was about to be done. She slowly, stealthily crept her way up behind him. It didn't look like she'd be able to grab him, but there wasn't any harm in trying. Quickly she twisted her body and whipped her tail around the stranger's leg, yanking hard to pull him down.

Sandman, in a panic, somehow didn't hear the hooves walking up behind him. He also didn't notice when a thin tail wrapped around his left ankle. What he did notice, however, was the wind on his face as he was plummeting to the ground.

"WHAT THE FU-" was all he could get out before he landed face-first, and blacked out.


End file.
